Soul Transfer
by Arya d'Umbra
Summary: When Sesshomaru is attacked, it's up to Jaken to get Kagome's help. Will she do it? And if she does, will she regret it later?
1. Sesshomaru's crisis

Disclaimer: So I don't own the characters, but the plot is mine

Soul Transfer

"I'm gonna beat ya!" shouted Rin, as she raced against Jaken. Sesshomaru walked calmly along behind them. They were traveling across an open field where a few trees were. Jaken was putting up with the little girl's games, just so that his lord would not get mad. Sesshomaru had insisted that the girl come with them after she saved his lord's life. Jaken was keen to avoid trouble with the dog demon at the moment, for he had come very close to saying "Hi." to Sesshomaru's venom claws. (I hope you get my meaning.) Rin was just as perky and cocky as she normally was. The lord Sesshomaru, however, was not in the mood for celebration.

The three travelers had covered some distance, when the great demon began to falter. Sesshomaru tripped. "Oof!" Jaken's next move was to run back towards the demon with a cry of "My lord!" Rin, still perky, ran back towards Sesshomaru without emotion. Jaken helped the lord get to his feet. "All you all right my lord?" asked Jaken in a small concerned voice.

"I'm fine." replied the dog-youkai. So from there they continued. After a while, Sesshomaru faltered again. This time, he fell to his knees. His hand was at his chest. Both Jaken and Rin were at his side. "It's okay. I'm fine." the dog-youkai once more got to his feet. Yet, the lord did not feel fine. He felt shaken, as though someone was twisting his soul, from the inside. His thoughts were confused. They were in the woods now, approaching a village. The dog-youkai faltered again, and fell. "Damn it." said Sesshomaru, clutching his chest again.

"My lord?" said Jaken, his voice wavering. Sesshomaru felt like his soul was on fire. His blood was pounding, his breathing heavy.

"I can't." muttered Sesshomaru. "I feel unbalanced. My soul, my youkai's blood, does not want to last. Yet, I must complete this journey." Struggling, the lord got to his feet. He gingerly pressed onward. After a few steps, his strength waned. He fell, losing consciousness.

Then, out of nowhere, a voice called out "Humph. Serves you right. The dog-youkai, killing for pleasure, aiming to get revenge on his little brother. Now that I've cleansed his soul that won't be happening." A figure stepped out from behind a tree. It was a girl, about 17. She was wearing a traditional Japanese top, with a short skirt. Her long hair was tied up in a ponytail, using a ornamental clip. "So. The dog-youkai has two traveling partners; a pathetic human girl, and a frog demon. Heh. This was a lot easier than a thought."

Jaken and Rin, both of whom had been too frightened to speak, now gained courage.

"Who are you? And why did you do this to the great lord Sesshomaru?" asked Jaken defiantly.

The girl responded with a small laugh. "I am Kiya, the last remainder of Midoriko's soul. I cleansed the soul of your 'lord' here to eliminate his spirit."

"And just why did you want to do a thing like that.?" retorted Jaken. Rin was cowering behind Jaken.

"I did it to rid the world of that demon. He goes and tries to murder his half-brother for no reason, except the want for a sword and his dislike for humans."

Jaken looked over at the unconscious body of Sesshomaru. "Fuck you, Kiya." he muttered.

When he looked again, Kiya was gone.


	2. Sesshomaru's Soul

(Scene change. Jaken is pulling a tarp with Sesshomaru on it. Rin is walking next to him with her mouth shut.) "Why did that girl want to attack my lord?" asked Jaken for the billionth time. "And what does she mean about 'cleansing his soul'?"

"Um.. Jaken?" said Rin timidly.

"What?"

"I heard stories back home, about Demon Exterminators. It was said that a priestess once lived in their village who could "cleanse demons' souls" too. Shouldn't we go ask one about Sesshomaru-sama's condition?"

"You're probably right. But where are we gonna find an Exterminator around here?"

"Wasn't one of Inu-Yasha's companions an Exterminator? Her name was Sango, wasn't it?"

"I think so, but we haven't enough time to scour the country for that stinking hanyou." replied Jaken.

"I think a I know where Inu-Yasha might be. He might be in the village that we passed a little while ago. He knows the village priestess."

So, with that, Jaken and Rin trudged back over to the village. Once there, they found Inu-Yasha sitting on the roof of lady Keade's house. It was Kagome that spotted them first. She made Inu-Yasha "sit" and told him that Sesshomaru's companions were coming. Inu-Yasha flexed his fingers and said "Bring it on." When Jaken and Rin approached Keade's house, they left Sesshomaru by the door, and went inside to try and find Sango. Inside, Jaken found lady Keade and told her what had happened. Shortly after they entered, Sango, Miroku, Kagome, Shippo and Inu-Yasha came in. Kagome noticed Sesshmaru lying by the door.

"Lady Keade, I.. oh!" said Kagome, first to see that Jaken and Rin were talking to lady Keade.

"Kagome," said lady Keade, "they do not come boding ill. They come seeking help." "Eh... what?" replied Kagome.

"Jaken told me that something happened to his lord. Now, he wants help reviving him."

"But what if 'his lord' is a dog-demon?"

"Than we should help all the same." replied Keade. "Now," said Keade, turning to Jaken, continue your tale."

Jaken told the others his story. When Jaken had finished his tale, Sango said,

"The priestess Midoriko was the only priestess who entirely defeat demons. She knew how to put the four parts of a soul in balance. A demon's soul is not balanced. It is this unbalance that makes the soul a demon's. Most demons today have demons for parents, so their soul is naturally twisted. If a soul of a demon of this sort is cleansed, the soul itself will disintegrate, therefore, causing a slow death of not just the body, but the very soul itself. Then not even reincarnation is possible."

Jaken's eyes went wide. "No."

"However," continued Sango. "There still might be a way to save your lord."

Jaken was almost pleading when he said: "Please do it."

Sango ignored him. "But, it takes another willing vessel. The only way to revive Sesshomaru requires a priestess to twist his soul back into it's original form. There are a few glitches, however. When a soul is cleansed, it get larger. A demon body can only hold so much after that, even attempting to revive him is useless. And, the soul must be put back into its original form and size, in order to revive the demon. If the extra amount of soul remains within Sesshomaru, it might kill him. So we need another living vessel into which to feed this demon's soul, so he will awake. But, the extra soul is already a demon's, so the vessel into whom we feed the soul must be human, and must be willing to receive the soul. An unwilling vessel would force the extra soul back into the demon."

Jaken looked desperately around the room for someone who would hold the extra demonic soul.

There was frustration drawn on Kagome's face, as though he was trying to make up her mind. She then stepped forward and said "I'll do it."

Everyone was stunned.

"I'm serious. I'll do it. We found the whole Shikon Jewel, and there is no use for me to stay in this realm. Yet, I don't want to leave. If I do it, I'll be able to stay here."

"Are you sure Kagome?" asked Sango.

"Yes. I'm sure."

"You're going to end up looking like Inu-Yasha, you know." said Sango.

"Hey!" replied Inu-Yasha.

"I mean look like a hanyou. Some people here sure are sensitive."

"I'm still doing it. On one condition. Sesshomaru has to agree to stop badgering Inu-Yasha." replied Kagome

"I'll see that's arranged." said Jaken.

"O.K then. I'll do it." said Kagome.

They pulled the tarp that Sesshomaru was on inside, and lay him on the floor. Kagome lay down next to him. She closed her eyes. Somewhere above her she heard someone say "Ready." She heard both lady Keade and Miroku chanting. Then, she knew no more. Sango observed as the monk and the lady chanted. Then, she saw a small simmering ball of light on Sesshomaru's chest. The ball grew. Then, the ball twisted itself.

"It going all right. This is supposed to happen." thought Sango.

She kept watching. After the ball twisted, a part of it broke off, and went to hover above Kagome's chest. The part still hanging above Sesshomaru sank into him. Then, the part hanging above Kagome sank into her.

Sesshomaru slowly opened his eyes. "Huh?" he said. Sesshomaru slowly sat up. He looked over at Kagome, who was next to him, and at the others. Jaken and Rin (who had been quiet all this time,) ran to him. Meanwhile, Kagome did not stir. Then, her body began to glow. Everyone looked. Soon the light died down. They could see her now. Sango was right when she said that Kagome would look like Inu-Yasha, for she did. She had his ears, except, hers were black. She also had his claws and his sense of smell. Kagome now stirred. She opened her eyes and sat up. She looked straight at Sango and asked "Did it work?" Shippo went to Kagome's backpack, which was in the corner. He pulled out a mirror and handed it to her. Kagome looked in the mirror. "Ookay..." she said slowly. " I guess it worked then." She turned to Sesshomaru.

"How are you feeling?" She didn't get an answer.

Then ..."Why did you do that?"

"Huh?" said Kagome.

"Why did you do that?" repeated Sesshomaru.

" Well, I didn't want to let you die like that. Even if you do threaten us, I couldn't let you die." Sesshomaru looked dumbstruck. After all that he had done to get the Tetsusiaga and to kill Inu-Yasha, Kagome still would not let him die. Here Sesshomaru said something that he normally would not say. "Kagome?"

"Yes?"

"Umm... Thank You.


	3. Kagome's Battle

Kagome, Inu-Yasha and Sesshomaru now had at least part of a demon's soul within each of them. Kagome was shocked by the new senses, especially the sense of smell. There were seven different scents each coming from another being. Suddenly, Kagome's hand flew up to her nose, covering it. " What's wrong?" sneered Inu-Yasha. "Too many smells for a human mind to handle?" Then Inu-Yasha covered his nose as well. Sesshomaru's hand was already covering his nose.

" That smell..." said Kagome faintly. "It's like decay and rot and evil and..."'

"I know that smell." said Inu-Yasha. " It is not one that I want to smell right now. It's that bitch, Naraku." Kagome's eyes went wide. The three of them (Inu- Yasha, Kagome and Sesshomaru) stood up and went to the door. Kagome picked up her bow. Inu-Yasha turned around.

"You won't be needing that anymore. You've got to use your claws. And if I'm right, it'll do more than just make people bleed."

Kagome looked down at her hands. "Claws. I'd forgotten about them." she muttered under her breath. She saw that the base of her nail was a little opening. Through the opening a light pink fluid came out and covered her claws. She went and grabbed Sesshomaru's hand. "What?" asked Sesshomaru. Kagome found the same thing on the lord's had as well. "Venom." she breathed.

Just then, she thought that she saw that familiar monkey suited figure coming towards them. "I am sick and tired of that fucking bastard showing up whenever we don't want him around." she said.

"Come on!" Inu-Yasha yelled. He flew away from the village. Sesshomaru followed. Kagome stood there. "Don't just stand there!" Shippo screamed. "Go with them!"

"Oh. Right." Kagome followed the two of them.

She found both of them in the woods. They were gearing up for a fight. Just as she landed, Naraku spotted her. "Well well. Isn't it the young miko. I'll destroy you first."

He attacked. In the second she had left, Kagome copied one of the moves that she had seen Inu-Yasha use so many times. She ran forward, her fingers tense. "Bastard." She dug her claws into Naraku. His baboon pelt fell off. Because her soul was originally pure, the power that it stored was released when her soul twisted. The amount of power that hit Naraku drove him back. "What in the seven hells..."

Kagome's hand was smeared with blood. "Ewwww... gross."

"Get used to it, Kagome. If you're going to survive like that, you can't let a little blood scare you." retorted Inu-Yasha.

"What did you so with the girl?" Naraku hissed, looking at Inu-Yasha and Sesshomaru.

"Why do you care?" came Sesshomaru's soft voice. "What we did with the girl is our business, not yours." He drew Tokijin (the sword in book 17).

"Enough talk. You're going down!" Inu-Yasha said.

Inu-Yasha attacked. He used the Scar of the Wind (Cutting Wind, etc.). To his surprise, it didn't work. He saw\smelled that the winds were shifting. (Oh, and it didn't work because there was no human at that moment to protect, unless Kagome's human blood counts.)

Just then, Kagome screamed "Kagura!"

Kagura was standing in the trees on one side of the battle.

"I grow bored." Naraku said. "Time to end this."

The earth started melting (like in book 8 of the English manga). Inu-Yasha, Sesshomaru and Kagome were forced back.

"You cannot withstand the power of my mystic aura. I will kill you all." Naraku's voice surrounded them.

"If only I had my bow." Kagome thought. "Then I could kill this bitch." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a bow, and quiver. Naraku's aura was closing in around her. As fast as she could, (which was a lot faster now) she ran to the bow. As soon as she was out of the aura, it closed, trapping Inu-Yasha and Sesshomaru inside. Kagome remembered all the times that she had used her power in its natural form. She fitted an arrow into the bowstring. She called up all the power she could. She fired. The arrow cut through the aura, landing in Naraku's chest. Kagome fell. Naraku fled.

"Kagome!" Inu-Yasha came running towards her. Then, Sango and the rest came towards them. "Kagome!" Shippo came running. "Is she alright?"

"I don't know."

"What happened here?" asked Sango.

"Naraku turned up. He seemed angry at what we did to Kagome. Then he caught me and Sesshomaru in his evil aura. Kagome shot one of her purifying arrows, and that's when you guys showed up."

"But how could she? I didn't think that demons could be "pure"." Miroku replied.

Keade joined them. "She could shoot an arrow of the sort because her soul was originally pure."


	4. Human 'till the End

The sun started to go down. They went back to Keade's hut, dragging Kagome on a tarp. When they got there, it was dark. Once in the hut, Kagome awakened. She looked at her hand it still had blood on it. She went outside, and washed it. She then noticed that her nails seemed shorter then they were that afternoon. She put her hands on the top of her head. She didn't feel dog ears. She then yanked her human ears. She looked at the moon. It was full. Now she knew the night of her "secret weakness". She smiled. She was human! Being a demon was a nightmare. So much power, so much speed, and yet, no control over any of it. And the blood. The dreaded blood. She had been around blood long enough that it didn't scare the crap out of her, but she couldn't stand it. Her hands covered in warm red fluid, the life of another. She shivered. She regretted her rash decision to save Sesshomaru. Thinking back on it, the only reason she did it was because she couldn't bear see him die. Somehow, someway, she was going to find a way to make herself stay human. She just had to.

She trudged back into the hut. Each person was doing their own thing. Kagome spied Sesshomaru standing alone in the corner. Even Jaken and Rin weren't with him. Kagome went and stood next to him. Looking up, she could see that the taiyoukai was thinking. He startled her as he spoke. "Why did you do that? It's just... it doesn't make any sense. Why? After the number of times I've tried to kill all of you.." His response faltered off.

Kagome wasn't sure how to respond. She couldn't tell him that she was so soft that a single death would make her lower her guard. She looked back, and thought that she should have let him die. Kagome couldn't respond.

Sesshomaru turned around. He had his hand on his sword hilt. "Stay still." he commanded. Kagome wasn't sure if she should freeze or run. Old fears and new powers clashed to lock her in place. Sesshomaru's sword bore down on her. She closed her eyes.

Only to open them again, very puzzled. She then realized how stupid she had been. If the youkai had wanted to kill her, he would have done it a long time ago. She had been sliced with the rather harmless Tensaiga. She glared up at him. "What was that for?" Sesshomaru looked at her from behind an emotionless mask. "I was trying to see if you would stay human. I'm not sure if you can. The demon is in your blood now." He turned away from her.

She ran back around to face him. "You can make me stay human?" she said, trying not to let her excitement show. She didn't want to be a demon. She was human, utterly and completely. No matter how twisted her soul now was, she was human. She could leave the demon bits to Inuyasha, Shippo and Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru almost laughed. A small smile showed up instead. "I can see how you despise being a demon. The power and the new senses are just overwhelming your mind. Being a human is so much simpler for you."

Just then, Shippo jumped on Kagome's head. He scrambled through her hair. "Where'd your ears go?"

Kagome lifted him off. "Right here, silly." she said, pulling one.

Shippo looked at her confused. "But I thought that you were a demon.." He shrugged and jumped down into Kagome's arms. Kagome rested her head on his.

She tried to choke back the tears that had begun to leak down her face. "I am."

But she desperately wished she weren't.


	5. Home Again

**Sorry it took so long to update**

Kagome couldn't handle it. It was too much. Her mind couldn't handle the overwhelming senses and other information that it was receiving. She couldn't move her hands without scratching herself with her claws. She was impervious to the poison, but it still annoyed her. So, she decided to go back down the well. Maybe, if she went back to her own world, she could try to act human again. Hopefully.

So that's what she did. She hopped down the well, and back into her own time. After jumping out of the well, she dug out a baseball cap from the giant yellow backpack she carries. Jamming it awkwardly on her head to hide her ears, she walked home.

"Mom, Grandpa, Souta I'm home!" she called from the door. Her mom came up to her.

"Oh, it's so good you came back. Grandpa and Souta went shopping. Come in, I'll make you something to eat."

As usual, Kagome's first stop was the shower. When she came out, she was toweling her hair dry. She walked into the kitchen with the towel still in her hands.

"Mmm. That sure smells good. What're you making?"

Her mom looked up at her, first with slight surprise, then with a smile. How had Kagome smelt it? There was only the tiniest of aromas. "Your favorite-" Her mom stopped, looking at Kagome with first a look of surprise, then of horror. "Kagome, your head..."

"Shoot!" Kagome pulled the towel down on her head, to cover her ears, but she didn't do it fast enough.

"Take that towel off." her mom snapped, pulling the towel away. "Young lady, you have some explaining to do. What on earth happened?"

"Well, um... I'm not really sure how to start..." _Oh no! _Kagome thought. How was she supposed to explain to her mom that she was a demon, and besides, she wanted to get rid of the demon in her, not embrace it. She remembered the circumstances under which she had left the feudal era. Out of options, she sat down, and told her mom the truth.

"... I was hoping that Gramps would have a counter spell." she concluded. Her mom looked both shocked and amazed.

She then glanced down at Kagome's hand. The long claws were glowing a bright poisonous green. Kagome saw her mom's glance, and got up. She went and got the nail cutters, trying to get rid of her claws. It wouldn't work. As soon as she'd cut one off, it would just regrow again. She struggled with cutters for a few more moments,then sat down awkwardly. "It's useless.." she tried to swallow the lump in her throat. It didn't go away.

Her mom came around to comfort her. Kagome continued complaining, feeling as if she were about to cry. "I can't do this. The senses, the power..." Her sentence ended in tears.

Kagome ate her food, then waited as patiently as she could for her grandpa to get back home. When he finaly arrived, she was impatient. She forced herself to calm down before approaching him. As she drew nearer, her grandfather started speaking. "Hi Kagome. Did you bring that demon friend of yours back with you?"

Kaogme looked at him. "No."

"Then why is my new demon detector sensing a demon?"

"Yeah, about that Gramps. I'm a demon." Kagome winced as the words came out, knowing how silly they must have sounded.

"Don't be silly Kagome, you're not a demon." he replied, turning his gaze back to his new demon-detector.

Just then, Souta bounded up. "Hey sis, you're back!" He hugged her. "Ok! Get off me!" Kagome exclaimed, tussling about to get her brother off. While she was doing this, Souta snatched the baseball cap off her head. Kagome froze, her ears sticking up. Gramps' demon detector went haywire.

"I tried to tell you." Kagome said, fighting hard to keep back tears. "I'm a demon."


	6. Cured?

_For disclaimers and such, see chapter one._

When her grandfather had gotten over the initial shock, he started looking for an antidote. He pulled out a very large cradboard box that was full of spells and potions and who knows what else. He rummaged around in it, throwing things out over his shoulders, muttering to himself.

Whiel he was busy doing this, Souta came up to Kagome and gave her ears a sharp tug. "Ouch! What'd you do that for, idiot?"

"Sorry," said Souta. I just wanted to know if they were real? Did Inuyasha paint his ears black and give 'em to you?"

Kagome tried to keep her patience. "I told you already, I'm a demon. Those are my ears!"

Souta said nothing.

It took Grampa almost an hour of careful digging and not-so-careful discarding for him to find what he was looking for. "Here it is," he said, sounding unceremoniously pleased. He held out a tiny bottle with "Youkai" written on it.

"Demon?" said Kagome. "How's that supposed to help me?"

Her grandfather smiled. "That's what we're going to find out." He unstoppered the bottle and poured two drops of white liquid into a cup. He mixed it with a little tea and gave it to Kagome to drink.

She took the cup carefully and made a face. "It smells almost as old as the God Tree," she said, and drained it. Nothing happened for a moment. Maybe two. After that, she shivered, and leaned back against the wall. "Whatever you gave me, it's like ice." Kagome said. She closed her eyes. A second later she was asleep.

Her grandfather layed her on the floor, and begon to look in his box again. Souta, apprehensive, said "Is she gonna be alright?"

Grampa said nothing. He dug in his box once more, and found a long sutra and some ancient scrolls. He was nowhere as adept with magic as Sango was, or even Miroku for that matter, but he thought that his weak magic could break the hold that the demon's soul had on her. He stuck one scroll on her head and the others went around her. He unrolled the sutra and started reading it. It was difficult for him to pronounce the words, and he felt almost no magic in the air, but he trusted that it would work. As he kept reading, his feeling of foreboding grew. Souta had quietly crept out of the room. He was alone. He hoped it worked. Now he just had to wait and see.


End file.
